Oh I know a week and a half isn't enough to tell anything. Like I said, I don't expect this to be a magic pill. That's why I've quit weighing myself. I'm going to try to just do it once a month. HA! That's an interesting theory you have, Sam, about what works well at the beginning and what works well at the end. I haven't read Protein Power yet, but I have a copy of it. I was under the impression that it was like Atkins but more liberal, but it seems there's a great deal more to it than that. If you think that PP is the better approach when you're close to goal, then why are you doing Atkins Induction? I don't know about how much ketosis makes a difference. I've been in ketosis when I've gained weight, so I don't even bother checking anymore. As far as exercise, I do an aerobic workout for 50-60 minutes three or four times a week. I usually use wrist weights while doing it, and I just bought a book on weight training, but haven't started it yet. Sigh. I'm trying to stop being so driven by this weight obsession. I know exactly what you mean, Frances, about feeling like you have to be thin to be lovable, even acceptable, but our culture supports that idea. I don't know about you, but when I'm thin, I hear all kinds of disparaging remarks that people (who obviously have never been fat) make about overweight people. They arbitrarily attribute all sorts of personality flaws, from laziness to slovenliness, to people that are overweight. Blech. Now I'm the one being depressing! Well, all I can say is that I thank God that I finally understand that my unbearable food cravings have nothing to do with weak will, self-indulgence or gluttony. Knowing that they are biochemical in nature is positively liberating, and gives me hope I've never had before. Doing low-carb has freed me from a tortured life of being driven by food cravings and obsessions. Sugar used to rule my life. Now I rule it.